AAA: Nearly 1 Million Marylanders Will Travel For Memorial Day
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Planning on getting away over the Memorial Day weekend?
Well you won't be alone.
AAA is projecting some of the heaviest travel in years.
Alex DeMetrick reports, 834,000 Marylanders will be on the move. That means the first big weekend of summer is going to see the heaviest travel in 12 years.
AAA projects almost 744,000 Marylanders will drive, and nearly 24,000 will travel by rail.
"We think that the economy is certainly improving," says Ragina Averella, of AAA Mid-Atlantic. "People have a little bit more confidence as consumers. And they certainly have the urge and desire to travel."
And police will be out in force, looking not only for aggressive and distracted driving, but also drunk driving.
"We're going to have check points set up," says Maryland State Police Lt. Col. Frank Lioi. "We're going to have roving DUI saturation patrols. So no matter where you go in the state, we're going to be out in full force."
That includes the Bay Bride, where police will be looking out for tailgaters, and which will almost certainly be a major choke point going and coming from Eastern Shore beaches.
And once there, "we want them to be safe in Ocean City," says Mayor Richard Meehan. "We want them to follow our Walk Smart campaign, use the cross walks, obey all the traffic rules."
AAA's advice is to leave early and pack your patience.
Nationwide, AAA projects 39 million people will be traveling, which is also the most for the Memorial Day weekend in 12 years.
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